Category: Education

The Students’ Union of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, LAUTECH has debunked the rumour flying around that the Management has demanded that academic activities be commenced on Thursday 18th of August, 2022.

The President of the Students’ Union, Comrade Adeboye Anuoluwa in a statement made available today to ODUDUWA NEWS dispelled the news flying around that the school would commence academic activities this week.

He said he confirmed it from the Registrar and was briefed that such memo was outdated and fake as no information regarding the resumption of academic activities had come out of his office recently.

He therefore urged the students to remain calm as all efforts are geared towards settling lingering strike action.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is scheduled to meet with Federal Government representatives on Tuesday over its prolonged strike.

President of ASUU, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, who disclosed this on Monday while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, said the meeting was to discuss one of seven issues ASUU is protesting over.

“That’s the issue of renegotiation,” Osodeke said.

“The renegotiation of the 2009 agreement.

“It’s not just about wages. It has to do with the system, funding, the structure, the autonomy and other issues and how to fund universities.

“The government has reduced it to just salaries alone. But if they had looked at the whole agreement and implemented it, we would not be talking about funding.”

Osodeke also suggested that if Tuesday’s meeting goes well, the strike action may be called off.

“We are willing to sign,” he added.

Recall that ASUU, on February 14, shut down public universities over the inability of the Federal Government to implement previous agreements both parties entered into.

The lecturers’ agitations include funding for the revitalization of public universities, earned academic allowances, University Transparency Accountability Solution, promotion arrears and others.

The management of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, has announced the continuation of academic activities for the 2021/2022 academic session.

In a circular signed by the Registrar of the University, Dr. Kayode Ogunleye, on Monday, titled, “Release to Staff and Students: Continuation of the First Semester of the 2021/2022 Academic Session”, the management said that academic activities would resume on Thursday, August 18, 2022.

The statement, copied to major principal officials of the school, read in part, “Upon the directive of the Visitor to the university, the management, hereby, informs all staff and students that the university will continue its academic activities for the first semester of the 2021/2022 academic session on Thursday, August 18, 2022.

It stated further that the amended academic calendar for the semester will soon be made available, urging staff and students to abide by the directive.

“On behalf of the Acting Vice Chancellor, Prof M. 0. Liasu, I welcome all students back to the campus and wish them a crisis-free semester.”

Recall that ODUDUWA NEWS had earlier reported that the management announced May 26, 2022 as official resumption of academic activities some weeks ago.

But the unions (ASUU & JAC) which had been on strike for the past six months refused to resume academic activities despite the school management order.

Although, there have been several efforts from government to make the unions resolve all wrangling issues that may be stopping academic activities on campus with the recent meeting the unions held last month with Oyo government.

Osun State House of Assembly has passed into law the bill seeking to upgrade the College of Education Ilesa to a full fledge university.

The lawmakers passed the bill titled, Osun State establishment Bill 2022, at their plenary on Monday. Commenting on the upgrade of the College to the university, the Speaker of the Assembly, Timothy Owoeye said,

“Now that the Bill has been passed into law, the Governor may appoint a working Committee to see to the making of the University anytime from now.”

Talking on the rising insecurity within the state, Owoeye charged the youth to not enable politicians use them as brokers of destruction.

Owoeye in a press release by his Press Secretary, Kunle Alabi, additionally enjoined mother and father and guardian to make sure that their wards weren’t engaged to destroy peace of the state.

The Speaker, who made reference to Minority chief of the Home, Mr Kofoworola Adewunmi whose father’s home was torched in the course of the weekend, said, “I wish to cost our youths to not enable themselves for use as brokers of distabilisation.

“Don’t enable yourselves for use for thuggery, you have to be sure that the peace that the state is thought for stays. The peace loved earlier than and in the course of the administration of Governor Oyetola ought to be guarded for it to not erode the state.”

Abdulrahman Abduraheem, the Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology in Oyo State, has refuted rumors that the state government intended to give back some schools to their original owners, whether they were missionaries or private citizens.

The Commissioner stated that the government never expressed a willingness to hand up the control of schools to their original owners when it clarified the State Government’s position in a statement over the weekend.

He asserted that Governor Seyi Makinde had only recently urged members of the Old Students Association to submit their request to the Ministry of Education at Loyola College, where a hall bearing the name of Ondo State Governor Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu had just been donated to the school.

The statement quoted the Commissioner as saying: “There is clearly no truth to the story making the rounds that the government of Oyo State was about to return schools to their original owners.

“The government does not have such intention and there was nowhere His Excellency, Governor Seyi Makinde made that statement.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the governor was confronted about a possible return of the Loyola College, Ibadan, to the Old Students Association and he asked the association to direct its request to the Ministry of Education for necessary engagement. “He did not give any directive on the return of the school or any school, whatsoever. The Honourable Commissioner added:

“It is true that the state has developed a proof of agreement with the Incorporated Trustees of GCIOBA, but that does not in anyway amount to a blanket return of all schools to their original owners.

“While the state will not shy away from productive partnership with stakeholders in the education sector to support its policy of free and qualitative education, it will not take any step capable of upsetting the cord of alliance already existing in a highly treasured sector like education.

“Let me use this opportunity to address some interests who appear bent on twisting the submission of Mr. Governor on this subject upside down to look for other things to do as it is clear they will not succeed in the inglorious path of attempting to whip up religious sentiments on this issue.”